Magnum

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Posts by Magnum

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  12

  UC Berkeley Study on Disaffiliation from JW

  by emmayataco in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm a uc berkeley student researching the effects of disaffiliation from the jehovah's witnesses.

  i'm not ex-jw but i am ex-mormon and as your cousin i can sympathize with the struggles we face when we question/leave the religion.. i currently have a survey open which closes on sunday the 20th at 11pm.. if you meet the criteria i encourage you to take the 20-30 minute survey.

  -be at least 18 years old-born/raised jw (born in or family converted when you were minor)-"left" at least 6 months ago (left=inactive and questioning/non-believing).

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  Magnum

  Just completed. I think it's legit.
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  6

  If you enjoy a challenge, then read this book

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  if you enjoy a challenge, i recommend this book: mind the gap: how the jewish writings between the old and new testament help us understand jesus, by matthias henze.

  fortress press.. one example from the book:.

  while there are several individuals in the bible who are said to be anointed, the word “messiah” or “anointed one” is never used in the old testament to designate a future anointed redeemer figure.

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  Magnum

  Thanks. I really like and appreciate the book recommendations I get on this site.
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  17

  "I still miss it Dad" My 41 Year Son Admitted

  by 1234 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on the 18th of september i turned in my disassociation letter in to the tigard congregation, 19 years ago.. my son turned in his letter in november 2001, 19 years ago shortly after me.

  he was 21 years old.. two days ago we were working together on a wrap for his a/c unit on his bus.. out of blue, he says "i still miss it dad.

  not the religion.

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  Magnum

  I miss it, too, but for a different reason. I miss what I thought it was before I found out what it really is. I miss the exciting, seemingly wholesome, district conventions in the 70's & 80's. I thought I was part of something good and special. I so wanted the "new world" wherein justice and goodness and happiness would prevail. I miss that feeling of security I had back then... the looking forward to the future.

  My wife and I don't miss individual JWs. We actually don't want to ever see them again and do our best to avoid them. They just weren't our type.
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  10

  another reason pandemic benefits org

  by Magnum in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i've already posted in an earlier thread how the pandemic benefits the org in that it presents it an excuse to go completely electronic and sell all buildings (if that's what it wants).

  however, there is another way the pandemic benefits the org; it presents it an excuse for declining numbers.. many of us have wondered just how much of a downturn there's been in jw land in recent years.

  we've wondered whether the org was playing with the numbers to make the situation appear better than it was.

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  Magnum

  I've already posted in an earlier thread how the pandemic benefits the org in that it presents it an excuse to go completely electronic and sell all buildings (if that's what it wants). However, there is another way the pandemic benefits the org; it presents it an excuse for declining numbers.

  Many of us have wondered just how much of a downturn there's been in JW land in recent years. We've wondered whether the org was playing with the numbers to make the situation appear better than it was. I've also wondered what was going to happen when the real situation just couldn't be hidden anymore - sort of like when a Ponzi scheme starts to collapse.

  Now, though, the org can sort of "hide" the real situation behind the pandemic. It now has an excuse for low preaching hours, low Bible studies, poor meeting attendance, etc. It can probably even find a way to blame declining publisher numbers on the pandemic. It can now present the real numbers and stop sweating.
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  28

  1919 2013 2020 and the Slave

  by Jerryh in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was never a jw but i lurk in this forum occasionally, trying to rescue some family.

  i will spare you those details.. jw.org and jwfacts are there with youtubes out the wazoo but i would appreciate your thought on this.. i know there are contradictions plenty but this is foundational, blatant and current.

  i know they typically just blow off.

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  Magnum

  It seems as though you're thinking that the 2013 Watchtower indicates that the faithful and discreet slave won't be appointed until the future great tribulation, yet the 2020 Watchtower indicates that it is already in existence. If so, I think I can clear the issue up

  JWs teach that the faithful and discreet slave has already been appointed and is operating today; they claim it is the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses. However, they teach that the faithful and discreet slave won't be appointed over all the master's belongings until the great tribulation starts. In other words, according to them, the slave is already appointed, yet it will be given bigger responsibility in the future (It is currently only over some, not all, of the master's belongings.).
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  14

  Needing to Questions Elders to Help Husband Understand

  by Unlikely-pack-6349 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my husband insist that i talk to the elders.

  it is something i 100% plan on doing for the simple fact of my relationship with him.

  i know some of you may disagree but it seems like the best option for us.. problem/question: .

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  Magnum

  I agree with pistolpete. I wouldn't have anything to do with them. If anything, I would meet with only one. If you meet with more than one at a time, even if one of them understands a point you make and even agrees with you and is having doubts himself, he won't be able to even remotely admit it because of the other(s) present; he will have to play his role.

  If you do meet with one or more, you can play weak and troubled by what some non-JW (relative, workmate, friend from the past, etc.) told you, and you act like you want a way to respond to this person. Bring up something like failed predictions, the "generation" teaching not making sense, profiting off disaster relief, etc.

  This was posted on this forum fairly recently (1967 mag):

  
  
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  12

  Study Book

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the watchtower's current study book?.

  is it what does the bible really teach?.

  is it what can the bible teach us?.

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  Magnum

  JW GoneBad, for a good while (80's & 90's), the main study book for new ones was the Live Forever book (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth).
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  43

  Today's WT Study: "Return to Jehovah" - Lots of Elephants in the Room

  by Room 215 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  today's article prods active jws to participate in the effort to reactivate us backsliders.. unfortunately, it fails to prepare the participants to adequately address the real reasons so many have left and want nothing frtherethan to be left alone: the un and child abuse scandals, prophetic failures; dumbed-down, increasingly specious and simplistic verbiage in literature and talks, the cult of personality and unwarranted veneration of those 8 singularly unremarkable members of the gb, etc., etc..

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  Magnum

  Below are some phrases from the article (bold & italics mine). Notice how JWs are conditioned to think that we are weak and lost and that we have strayed.

  ---Jesus said that Jehovah and the angels feel great joy when even one of His servants who has strayed returns to Him

  ---focus on helping those who have strayed from Jehovah

  ---lost sheep

  ---support those who are weak

  ---LOVINGLY SUPPORT THE WEAK [subheading]

  ---likely weak spiritually because of what they experienced in Satan’s world

  ---need to invest time and energy in helping some inactive ones to overcome their weaknesses

  ---help them to become spiritually strong again

  ---We will find much joy in helping the spiritually weak

  That infuriates me. They are self-righteous, ignorant, weak, & puny. We are the strong ones. And yes, at this point in time, I do also blame individual JWs. They've had enough time and evidence to wake up. I no longer excuse those who remain (not including the younger ones who have been brainwashed).

  If they try to get me to return, they're going to find out how weak I am.... or maybe not. I might play weak - tearfully weak... and then ask them if they can help me with some things that really bother me. For example...

  "Oh thanks for stopping by. We've been really down. You know, we really believed all this material from the faithful and discreet slave [show printed material such as that that indicates the end was imminent in 1960's, that younger JWs wouldn't have careers in this system, etc.], and we acted accordingly. Now we're struggling financially. We have to work so hard and so many hours and such odd hours that we can't come to meetings, etc. And, since this is because we put the Kingdom first, we were wondering whether Jehovah's organization has any provision to help us financially since it put us in this position. We hope so because we really want to return."
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  84

  Does Anybody Here Sympathize With The Looters That Cause Destruction?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i realize some here are diehard democrats.

  whether you are democrat, republican or independent, do you support any of these looters that cause mayhem and destruction for their cause?

  i have heard some people sympathize with these law breakers saying they understand why they do what they do and leave it at that.. of course i wonder how they would feel if their own property was burnt or stolen or destroyed..

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  Magnum

  Iown Mylife, and what they're not realizing is that insurance rates go up because of their actions and business owners (and others) end up paying for the damage anyway. Where do they think the insurance funds come from?

  It's kind of like what happens because of all the thievery in retail stores; prices go up to cover the losses, and the innocent have to pay for the stolen items.
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  51

  Why Does It Seem That Black People Are Always Being Shot By The Police?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there is either a conspiracy against blacks in this country and police are out to get them or it’s that they are getting caught breaking the law and often times refuse to obey police authority.

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  Magnum

  Is it because it's reported on and publicized more? Aren't significantly more whites killed by police each year than blacks?